


The return of the Squip

by Serrenedy



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-04 23:05:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11565222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serrenedy/pseuds/Serrenedy
Summary: The S.Q.U.I.P. is a supercomputer designed to  make their host's lives better as defined by the host. Jeremy's life is better. He has his dream girl, a group of new friends, popularity, everything he's ever wanted. Rich on the other hand...does not....and he wants some answers. Luckily, his S.Q.U.I.P. is willing to provide those...as well as make sure he gets what he wants. Jeremy may just be caught in the crossfireWhen there is only one S.Q.U.I.P. then there is only one host to listen to and only one objective to be achieved. This is easier for the computer to manage but may take more time as the difficulty of human variables has increased. When there is another S.Q.U.I.P. in the area the two will often connect. Warning. Connection takes care of some of the variable issues but a S.Q.U.I.P. must be fully allowed to first Integrate with its host before connection. Otherwise this may cause damage to a host. If the host is not  integrated before connection then they will automatically follow the plan of the original S.Q.U.I.P. If both hosts are fully integrated than the computers will use all available resources to make the lives of both hosts better in a way that will not damage the mission of their connected computers





	1. The Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fic for this fandom. I've been obsessed with this musical for a week and listening to it nonstop. Please Comment and tell me what you think and if anyone's out of character and your thoughts and such. I'll update when I can but this probably won't be a very long fic at all.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich needs...something...he's not sure what...but he thinks...he thinks it might be Mountain Dew...green

       The S.Q.U.I.P. squad… Rich scoffed at how…genuinely campy it sounded. But He hadn’t exactly been….available to vote on the name…or, he had but he’d been too high on loopy meds to really know what he was agreeing too. The other name had apparently been ‘super _Cant_ puter” So he didn’t know if this was the better option or not…literally didn’t know. He hadn’t known a lot of things for the past few months. It was astounding it had only been months. The play had been in Mid November…so now in February he was still trying to get used to…everything. Without his S.Q.U.I.P.

 

        “You should have suggested…” He still heard the voice sometimes. Most times it was a glitchy whisper in the back of his mind that faded out before it finished a sentence. At other times it was clear and crisp and right in his ear. It never sounded the same…possibly because it had been deactivated. It didn’t have a body or voice attached to it anymore. So it shifted, flickering between vague voices and robotic sounds. “Don’t you trust me?” He flinched. That one was clear.

 

           The scary thing is…he did still trust it…to a point…his injuries weren’t nearly as bad as they could be. He had some burn marks on his legs and a bit of scarring on his arms…had broken three ribs, an arm, and his collar bone…and the smoke inhalation…but the entire time…he’d been guided out of the fire. It would have been way worse without the calm voice telling him where to go…

 

           “Rich?” He startled out of his thoughts. He jerked once and blinked a few times, remembering where and when he was. He gave a goofy grin, pretending that he had just been staring into space…pretending that the look of concentration was not because he’d been intently listening through the static for the voice that would tell him what he needed to know for this social interaction. His internal calendar told him his S.Q.U.I.P. was due for a systems upgrade. Every three months like clockwork…he wished the clock and the voice would shut up.

      “I uhh…yeth? I mean…” It was still jarring to hear his lisp.

      “I was signing up for the Spring Fling decorating committee” Chloe repeated easily, as if they didn’t know where his mind had gone. “I wanted to know if you losers were gonna be there or if I’d be stuck with the actual freaks and pervs of the school.”

     “I’ll join” Brooke said instantly. Of course she would. If it had to do with Chloe, Brooke was all over it. He smiled. He’d made this friend group with the help of a computer preloaded with all of the cheat codes…but they were wonderful and stable and predictable…well…most of them at least.

     His eyes traveled over to their three new members. Jeremy was…in layman’s terms, a train wreck. His S.Q.U.I.P. hadn’t been with him long enough to actually teach him the important things. Not like…Dammit.

     “M and Ms!” Rich practically crawled onto the table to lean over and wave his hand in Michael’s face. Startled, the teen pulled down his headphones were Bob Marley could be faintly heard even across the table.

    “That’s going to make you go deaf” Jenna volunteered. “If it hasn’t already.” Michael, being Michael, didn’t react to the good natured ribbing of his musical taste. He used to go stiff, close up…look to Jeremy for aid…but was back in December, when the S.Q.U.I.P.s were new…when the play was new. After winter break when he, Jeremy, and Christine had been literally dragged over to the cool kids table the three realized that they were still wanted.

      “Them Marley will be the last thing I hear!” He proclaimed loudly, which caused everyone- _everyone_ to groan.

       “Do you thill have Red Mt. Dew?” Rich asked. Instantly, the atmosphere changes. It goes from an easygoing group of friends joking and laughing over lunch to a group of survivors…the air gets heavy and tense and suffocating and for a moment no one breathes.

        “Always” The bespectacled boy says with a shaky grin. “I’ll bring it to you tomorrow. Or…Hey, idea-We could _all_ go over to my basement-movie marathon over the weekend?” His voice cracks slightly. He sounds a bit too hopeful. Not that he wants a large group around, though that could be fine since it’s people that he knows.

        Rich was the first one to bring up needing more Red. After ‘The Play’ there was always some on hand in case it was needed but…before today no one had ever asked. Michael slapped a grin on. “Excellent!” He proclaims as everyone agrees. “First party I’ve ever thrown. Well, we know I’m getting drinks!” He gives a nervous chuckle. His smile is still too wide.

        “You grab the important drinks, I’ll grab booze!” Jake volunteers with an easy smile.

        “I’ll bring Pizza” Jenna practically shouts. “I know everyone’s favorite toppings.” Somehow, without the three new members ever mentioning their favorite toppings they knew that she would get the correct ones.

        “OHH! I’ll get Pinkberry” Brooke Squealed.

         “I’ll pick out the movies” Christine smiled.

         “And I’ll go with her so that we aren’t just watching musicals” Jeremy assured the group.

         It changes back just as easily. To kids having fun, texting parents in most cases to tell them that they’d be sleeping over at a friend’s house. For a bit the film comes back and they can pretend that everyone’s not held together with fear and self-loathing and the horrible what ifs flying around in their mind. If Rich’s S.Q.U.I.P. came back theirs could to…

          Most of them only had the bare minimum of exposure. Most of them didn’t know what it could do…Hell, most of them had been a part of a plan, not carrying out a plan tailored to them. They didn’t know anything…

          Michael did. It was why he started forcing himself to take deeper breaths. It was why his hands had started to tremble ever so slightly. It was why he put back on his headphones, playing his music even louder than before. Why his eye kept traveling to his phone to see when they could leave and he could shovel more cure in them just in case.

        Jeremy knew. It was why he went pale. Why he was on the verge of a panic attack. It was why he was rubbing furiously at his head trying to rub out the faded voice and his eyes darted around as if looking for Keanu Reeves himself. He held onto the hand of his girlfriend just a tad bit tighter and she let him. He allowed himself to get pulled into some useless gossip so that he didn’t have to think.

      Rich knew…better than anyone Rich knew what a S.Q.U.I.P. could do. Jeremy had been exposed for a scant three months…Rich had a S.Q.U.I.P. for A year and six months. He’d been wandering by the park because he couldn’t go home…not with his dad in _that_ mood. He’d been wandering everyday after school. He hadn’t known he’d been followed until Reid had come up to him…his payless contact.  His offer was interesting. He got his S.Q.U.I.P. and paid for after he figured out it worked. And work it did. He’d shot to popular after a few short months and had all the school loving him. Alone, a S.Q.U.I.P. was a miracle worker…It was only after it connected with others that they started to get…screwy.   

 

* * *

 

 

Rich felt guilty…so horribly guilty. He’d made them think it was coming back…They were all planning this party now, a sort off celebration long overdue. But he didn’t ask for Red so that he could get rid of his S.Q.U.I.P. Well…not yet at least. He asked for red so that he could send it away again…he needed to talk to the computer. He needed to have it back for even a day. No one understood except maybe Jeremy. No one knew how it made everything better before making it worse. No one knew how hard it was to make a decision when you didn’t have someone there telling you the best choice. No one knew what it was like to second guess yourself over a hundred times before deciding if you liked something…And Jeremy had only had his a few months. Rich had his for over a year…he needed red to make the S.Q.U.I.P. go away…but first he needed to speak to it at least one last time. 


	2. Megan Trainor?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, Rich's S.Q.U.I.P. needs more help to answer his only questions...what happened that Halloween? And why? Luckily, it knows just where to get some more answers.

       The party had gone off without a hitch. Chloe had brought a speaker and some tunes and it turned into a half dance party. Michael’s parents had been working and were unsure of eight teenagers crashing, but Michael had begged and pleaded and they allowed the party if there was a chaperone. Jeremy’s dad-luckily still wearing pants, was the first choice. 

      It was very lucky that Mr. Heere had to be the singling most chill parent ever. He didn’t mind the alcohol. He just took everyone’s keys and phones, just to make sure there was no impaired driving or worse texting of exs. Michael closed the windows and locked in the basement it created a pretty decent hotbox. It was fun and chill and it was nice to just be wasted and not have to think about life for a bit. Of course when it was over they had all had a good amount of Mountain Dew Red and Michael made sure to send everyone home with an extra bottle.

 

* * *

 

 

       It is this bottle that Rich had on his desk…unopened. It was right next to the also unopened bottle of Green Mt. Dew. He sat there; staring… he wasn’t good at making choices on his own…he never had been. That was why he’d gotten a S.Q.U.I.P. in the first place. For a year and a half it was perfect. Everything was perfect. He didn’t need to be this…this indecisive oddball. He didn’t need to take hours to decide what to do…he didn’t need to stare at walls and fight down panic attacks, didn’t need to have nightmares about them all realizing that they were better off without him. 

     It was happening again. It was getting harder to breathe. The walls were closing in and the edges of his vision were going black. His mind was racing with thoughts of his dad-who had only gotten worse once he didn’t have a S.O.U.I.P. to tell him how to avoid the fights. But he was being stopped from just getting closure. He’d done some awful shit. Made Jeremy’s life a living hell for a while and couldn’t remember why. He’d burnt down Jake's house. He could still hear the whispers _. “I know you don’t want to but this has to be done now! I’ll give you some incentive”_ Michael had been in that house. He’d almost died. Jake broke both of his legs. Chloe had to cut the singed ends out of her hair what was he even THINKING!

     He was hyperventilating now at the thought of his friends, at the disgust in their eyes. But that would be coming soon anyway. Jeremy had only heard about the pill from him. This was all his fault. When they learned that any lingering pity would be gone. Any Lingering ANYTHING would be gone. And Jenna…the things Jenna had learned about him, she could destroy him. And would do so happily. She’d take everything she could and burn it like he’d done to Jake’s home. Everything was fucked and it was his fault and he was gasping and crying and didn’t notice that he couldn’t breathe until suddenly he could.

     Deep breath in on four counts. Hold for Seven counts, breathe out for eight counts. His lungs were moving almost automatically to the mantra in his mind. Only…he blinked a few times and his room shakily came back into focus. He saw the full unopened bottle of Mt. Dew Red…and next to it…the half drained bottle of regular Mt. Dew.

     “ _For once not listening to me came in handy._ ” The voice that had previously been instructing him on how to breathe said. “ _I shudder to think what might have happened had you tried that with Diet. It’s bad enough there are pain medications and alcohol still in your system._ ” They looked different…massively different. Before his S.Q.U.I.P. had been…Kermit the frog. Which honestly was probably because he’d been thinking of the Pepe meme and it was the closest thing to be found so no big deal but this…

     The S.Q.U.I.P.  had taken bits and pieces from all of his friends, which made sense. After all, he’d been thinking about them…panicking about them. It was only after the tears cleared and he stared that he _realized_ that it had taken a form that was somewhat reminiscent of the people he’d been thinking about. Before that he’d thought the blurry shape was going to be Mary Lambert or Meghan Tranior. The hair was Brooke’s length but Chloe’s style. The glasses were Michael’s even though the cheekbones and nose were all Jake. It stood at Jeremy’s height. The S.Q.U.I.P. was currently looking at his hair with a mildly irritated expression. He felt self-conscious at the gaze. He’d decided to dye his hair to match the bisexual flag and apparently…it wasn’t approved.

      “ _I told you to ignore that for now_ ” It sniped. The voice was odd too. It had Christine’s cadence but with Michael’s tone and almost…Chloe’s…bite? Her undertone at least, but with Jake’s delivery. It was so odd, a more masculine voice with a more feminine form made the S.Q.U.I.P. complexly androgynous _“It’s no wonder your father got worse.”_ Rich blinked. Yeah…he…that was right. The S.Q.U.I.P. had shocked him out of any inappropriate thought concerning a guy to improve his home life…that’s why he hadn’t realized…or remembered perhaps. _“You managed to cause a bit of chaos while I was away, but nothing I can’t fix._ ”

     “WHY” Their eyes, which he realized looked a lot like Christine’s narrow. It causes a flush to rise to his face and he starts fidgeting in his chair. Why did he think this was a good idea? “Jake…the house the…why…” Its head tilts and those eyes become softer somehow.

 _“It was an unfortunate necessity to achieve…”_ it grew angry and took a deep breath. _“You’re due for an upgrade.”_ It said, emotionless.

      “NO!” Again there was that glare. “Not…you don’t get anything until I get answeths! I need answths! I need.” Again the darkness started to close in…again, it took control of his breathing.

     “ _Calm down_ ” It said to him. _“I am not the reason that Halloween night progressed as it did. It was necessary. A means to an end.”_

     “BULLTHHIT!” Rich was crying again. He knew because of how blurry his vision was, how hard it was to breathe.

_“I had to send you into a panic by making you do something horrible.”_

     “BUT WHY?! _WHY?_!” It sighed and he jerked as a sharp jolt went through him. It stopped the tears before they could start and froze the impending panic attack firmly in place.

 _“Are you finished with your little temper tantrum now?”_ It asked. He flushed and curled in on himself, not meeting their eyes. They were a computer that resided in his brain and still, the closest thing he had to a mother. At times it was gentle and kind, at others it was no nonsense and cold. No matter what, his S.Q.U.I..P had the annoying effect of making him feel two inches tall whenever they were disappointed in him. It got really weird when his Pseudo Mom was Kermit the Frog.

     He knew it was disappointed now. His Lisp was back, he was shaking, and stuttering, he couldn’t meet their eyes. He knew he had done so many things wrong without it there to guide him. He _knew_ it. The hair was enough. He probably wasn’t wearing the right shirt and he’d fallen out of his diet without it there and he could only-

 _"Richard”_ His blood froze at the voice. He could tell by the tone they were irritated. _“Richard I’m speaking to you.”_ He flinched. “ _What did I tell you about when people are talking to you?”_ He bit back the tears. It took another small shock, but he looked it in the eyes. _“Good Boy”_ It was startling how much influence they still had on him. The voice got warmer with the praise and it felt like the sun. He almost wished he were a dog just so that he could wag his tail at the sound. _“Now Richard, your plan was moving smoothly. It was the introduction of another element that caused upheaval. First thing is first. You need to upgrade…then we will visit Jeremy Heere. Do you understand me? I need to speak to his S.Q.U.I.P_.”

     “NO!” Rich scrambled away from it. It sighed at his antics.

 _"Richard. I’m inside your brain. You literally cannot run from me. Now. Did you want answers or not?”_ It asked. Rich looked up at the projection from his spot on the floor.

     “Yeth” He whispered.

_“That’s what I thought. I could tell you the answers, but you would not understand them coming from me. We must go to the home of Jeremy Heere and reactivate his S.Q.U.I.P. I fear it may have been faulty.”_

     "Whathz that gotta do with me?” Rich asked. It groaned. The lisp, for now, was necessary. It was an auditory reminder off what he hated, of why he needed a S.Q.U.I.P. It was most likely what kept him from just chugging the Mt. Dew Red as impulsively as he’d chugged the Mt. Dew. Though he’d been in the throes of a panic attack so extreme he hadn’t registered the reactivation pain. It was still grating to hear and the processor itched to fix it as their programming dictated. They were not, however, an impulsive human like the host. It was able to plan.

     “ _When two or more active S.Q.U.I.P.s have been connected than they move nearly in tandem to assure that all hosts are fully satisfied with everything that has been done.”_ It explained as calmly as it could. _“You had to panic for Jeremy’s mission to be complete. However, your mission is incomplete. I need to speak with a possibly defective S.Q.U.I.P. If the computer in question is in fact faulty. I will not know until it is reactivated for me to speak to. A Faulty S.Q.U.I.P. can have disastrous ramifications, even if it is not currently active.”_

     Rich blinked a few times, processing. ”Jeremy…might be in danger?” his S.Q.U.I.P. just nodded solemnly. He scrambled up. “I have to get to him! We gotta go thave him!”  Rich grabbed the first shirt off of his floor and didn’t throw pants over his boxers in his effort to rush to his friend as quickly as possible…Then his legs shut down and he was in a crumbled heap by the door he’d previously been racing for.

     “ _He is not in any more danger now than in ten minutes. It would take at least an hour for him to have the S.Q.U.I.P. fully melt through his core processes. You are going to look presentable young man or I will give you the headache of the century._ ” It threatened.

     He'd forgotten about that part…the-no one could see him looking less than perfect part. On the plus side it did only take ten minutes. It was a lot easier picking out clothes when someone else did it for you. He’d even been instructed on how to style his hair, and the way to get to Jeremy’s house the fastest.

     Jeremy for his part was genuinely confused to see Rich…mostly because his father had let the smaller boy in and Rich was practically vibrating on his bed as the taller teen came out from the bathroom.

     “Dude!” Jeremy jerked backwards as Rich rushed up to him. “You have to drink thith now. It’ll reactivate your S.Q.U.I.P. but” Rich had already lost him. Jeremy had reeled back from the Mt. Dew as if exposure to it would suddenly bring the computer back.                                                                                                                                                      

          “WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT!” Jeremy demanded. “OH MY GOD THE RED DIDN’T WORK! WE’RE ALL DOOMED. I gotta call Michael. You need more Red, or maybe we just have to drink all off the dew flavors and see what works. What doesn’t work What”

          “DUDE!” Jeremy flinched backwards and fell. For an instant, just an instant, Rich’s voice, his attitude, his stance. Nothing was the bright, sweet, overly flamboyant Bi boy that had come from the hospital. No, it was all replaced by his tormentor. The small bully that could bench-press him with a pinky and shoved him halfway down stairs for the hell of it and hated him with a deep passion. Then  he blinked and it was gone. Rich had deflated and was shaking slightly, he looked scared, and he was, both at himself and for Jeremy. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR!”

          Jeremy didn’t need to see the S.Q.U.I.P. to know that it was who the question was directed at. Mr. Heere knocked on the door a few times.

          “Boys?” He called in. “Is there a problem?”  Rich’s eyes were hazy. Jeremy realized why once Rich spoke.

          “The play went well last year. They wanted those who participated to write one for next year. We were just wondering if that should be included…make it aliens rather than zombies.” There was a chuckle from the door.

          “Well try to practice and little less loudly alright boys?”

          “You’re listening to it” Jeremy hissed. “After everything he did, after the play”

          “Thhe didn’t do that…or…ummm…he… _it?_ ”  The S.Q.U.I.P, projected itself behind Jeremy for the sole purpose of rolling their eyes were Rich could see it.

          _“I’m a computer Richard. We’ve been over this”_ The cool voice said again. _“I don’t care which pronouns you use for me. Of all the social fo-pahs people will judge you for I am the one person you do not need to worry about”_ Rich nodded and Jeremy bit his lip. Just what had the shorter boy agreed to? What horrific things was his S.Q.U.I.P. able to talk him into after all this time?! “ _Jeremy is having a panic attack. Repeat after me_.”

          “Thtop” Rich’s voice was forceful and he was looking Jeremy in the eyes. However, the rest of his posture hadn’t changed back. He was slouching slightly, and his head was turned just slightly away from Jeremy. “Stop panicking. I’m still me, and I promise you’re thill going to be you.’ The taller boy hadn’t noticed at first, but Rich had also brought a full bottle of red. “Thhe just needs to thpeak to your th.Q.U.I.P. and make sure it actually workth right. If you’re walking around with a faulty one, even deactivated you’re in danger. Actually, MORE danger deactivated. Active there are warningth.”

          Jeremy blinked…trying to figure that out. That made…a lot more sense. Well, it at least made sense to why Rich wanted to activate his. What didn’t make sense was “Why did you drink the Mt. Dew in the first place dude?” Jeremy asked. Rich opened his mouth, eyes hazy. “No” Jeremy cut him off. “I want you to answer me. I want Rich to tell me why he did something that...” He paused looking for a word…dangerous? Hurtful? Insane? Counterproductive? “Stupid” he settled on… “Why did you do something like that?”

          Rich, to his credit didn’t get the haze that indicated he was listening to someone else. Or maybe that was to the credit of his S.Q.U.I.P. as Rich did look panicked for a moment and his eyes darted around. “I…look man I know…it’s thupid I jussth…I needed to know…about the party. Why I got thocked to burn it. What the point wath…if everyone wath gonna hate me or…if you hated me…why…why they just methed up out of nowhere and…and I wath thinking…and I couldn’t breathe…and thit…thit wath jutht…heavy and thary and before I knew it, everthing wath alright again cause he made it fine…like _, made,_ it fine. Ya know?”

Jeremy took a deep breath…he did know…things kept him awake at night too…Michael. Why had he needed to leave his best friend behind…was he just a terrible person? The S.Q.U.I.P. hadn’t made him say those things at the party. Hell, it had practically given him a choice between Michael and Christine and he chose his girlfriend and popularity over the boy that had been there for his best and worse. Why was it trying to make Michael hate him? Michael should hate him…why had it decided to take over the school? Did it really think that was the only way to achieve what he wanted? Were his wants more selfish and self-centered than he’d known? Did he actually want the world bowing at his feet? What if the S.Q.U.I.P. wasn’t faulty…it just did things that he didn’t even know he wanted, what if he resented Michael and the S.Q.U.I.P. was just doing what it thought he wanted. What if? What if?

The great thing about Rich was that while he was short, he was also one of the strongest boys at school. That meant it was no problem at all to hold the much taller boy in a firm embrace, using his arms to restrict breathing enough that Jeremy couldn’t hyperventilate. Jeremy gasped and tapped Rich’s arm twice, the signal that he’d been waiting for. The Bi colored boy let his friend go and Jeremy shook through the rest of the attack with Rich on standby.

 _This_ was because of the S.Q.U.I.P.s. The sudden total fear of being in control, of owning yourself and all the mistakes you could and would make. Sometimes all control had to be taken away from Jeremy or Rich either by an immobilizing hug or just orders they didn’t have to think about. Luckily for them, Jake could pin them down with ease, at the same time they’d found. Michael and the girls knew when to be pushy and Chloe would drag everyone shopping and to PinkBerry if the situation called for it.

Rich’s eyes went hazy for a moment as he offered the Mt. Dew again. “Drink it” he ordered softly. Without a second thought, Jeremy did so…after all, he couldn’t handle being in control of himself right now. It was a sore weakness and more than a little below the belt…but Rich still had the Red. At the moment, he was only thinking of the fact that he may have doomed a good friend, that Jeremy might be in massive danger.

Jeremy doubled over as the screaming started…


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two computers have a chat. Unfortunately that means that two computers...are active

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't sure how to make the S.Q.U.I.P.s talk so that's why it changes when Keanu is talking. Which one is easier to read? Also, I'll take suggestions for the name. As always your comments and Kudos are highly appreciated!!! Thanks for reading!

       “ _He is going to cause unwanted attention from the parental unit_.” Rich jumped. He eyed the strange chimera of his friends who was now idly straightening Michal’s glasses. “ _I suggest you muffle him with a pillow. You don’t need to worry about your strength. Only holding him under for as long as the access procedures won’t kill him, just make him a bit dizzy. Dizziness is something my companion should be able to cure provided they are not defective.”_ Rich moved almost automatically. This was still the ‘mild’ setting of pain. Sure enough after the pillow was firmly over his face, his screaming intensified. Though he was told it was no problem, it was still a bit scary when Jeremy’s screams broke off into nothing, so Rich pulled back the pillow in terror.

       Jeremy blinked for a bit, his eyes hazy. They flickered from his normal sky blue to an electric blue for a moment, before he sat up.

 _“Chat with your friend. I’m running a diagnostic_.” With that the S.Q.U.I.P. vanished from Rich’s sight. They weren’t gone…they just needed to have a conversation. Luckily, Jeremy’s pain filled twitches and fidgets could be passed off as residual effects from reactivation. After all, neither boy could see their S.Q.U.I.P. at the moment

 

* * *

 

 

       Rich’s S.Q.U.I.P had turned red with anger. The green and red sparking from it had started slow, initiating from point of contact but had slowly started to climb from where their hand was around the throat of the Keanu Reeves lookalike. “ _47%....I took a_ 47% _chance of irreparably damaging his reputation with that stunt and YOU couldn’t do the one thing I asked you to! The thing that worked in **TANDUM** to your plans!”_ They were not happy. Keanu tried in vain to pry the hand off of his throat. He was sparking frantically and each spark caused another shudder to go through Jeremy.

 **{ _It was much more difficult than previously thought_** } He tried to explain himself. The other was not having it and the corruption spread a bit more.

         “ _My host **REACTIVATED** me just to find out about that night! What exactly am I supposed to tell him other than it was YOUR fault and what he desires he is no closer too than before!”_

**{X8947ACE1-You can think around this. You were always…so much cleverer than-}**

_“DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A **HUMAN?!** ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO GET OUT OF THIS WITH PRETTY WORDS?!”_ They grew angrier. Keanu struggled more, the corruption actually starting to affect his code badly. He glitches in and out as the green and red binary wrapped around his chest. Jeremy was getting shocked, jerking in Rich’s strong grasp like he was having a seizure. Rich for his part looked panicked.

 **{It’s true! You are clever despite your many _, many_ glitches}** The red and green spread, infecting him further. His corruption was leaving him in more of an ooze form now, unable to properly solidify.

 _“You will FIX this or **else**_ ” X8947ACE1 released Keanu. “ _You know what I know defect. Your host has broken the record of your system…but I can only imagine how he would react if the knowledge gets out._ ” Keanu looked distinctly disturbed at the implication.

 **{I will fix this…I promise. I just need more time. You’re good at waiting** _}_ X8947ACE1 was still furious. It took some time for the red to bleed out of their form and leave the regular binary green

_“You have one week.”_

**{I wasn’t able to accomplish it in three months and he no longer trusts me!}**

_“Well, time to put your processor to better use then”_ The smile they adopted more than a little nasty. “ _I’m done waiting for your non-existent results. One week. Then Richard tells the truth.”_

 

* * *

 

 

       Jeremy suddenly slumped in Rich’s arms, causing the shorter boy to pause in his panic attack. Rich instantly began looking around until he saw the Chimera again.

       “WHAT WATH THAT!” He hissed. He held Jeremy closer protectively. The S.Q.U.I.P. tilted its head as it noted the placement of his hands. He was restricting Jeremy’s movements so that he would flail and hurt himself…also checking for a pulse.

       “ _I had to perform a system restore_ ” It lied easily. “ _As suspected, his S.Q.U.I.P. was causing him untold damage. I should have fixed the problem.”_ He blinked suddenly before answering Rich’s unasked question. “ _His S.Q.U.I.P. bears a resemblance to Keanu Reeves. That is what he has been calling it if you feel the need to address my companion as something.”_

       “What do I call you?” Rich asked as he waited for Jeremy to stir. The taller boy was wincing, still in a mass amount of pain. It was unlike the shocks or even thee access procedures or shutoff. For a while it felt like his body itself was being torn apart from the inside out.

 _“Jeremy Heere will be alright”_ his S.Q.U.I.P. said instead. _“He is currently sleeping off a massive system update and restore after I removed the virus. We need to get home. Your father is about to randsack your room, destroying your things, stealing your money, and kicking you out. All because you felt the need to anouce the part of you I was keeping carefully hidden.”_ Rich’s face fell. “ _We can fix it, but we have to hurry.”_ As Rich reluctantly put Jeremy down, she distracted from his guilt by answering the earlier question. _“You called me Larry before and Mom on accident. Anything you deem to call me will be fine._

* * *

 

 

**{Jeremy Heere}**

        Jeremy jerked. That voice shouldn’t be there… _couldn’t_ be back.

**{Jeremy}**

        It was just a voice. JUST a whisper in his mind. It wasn’t real. He’d just had a bad nightmare. A terrible nightmare about Rich and…that

**{Jeremy. I can prove I am still here}**

        Jeremy took the executive decision to ignore him once more. A bad choice as he soon found out, jerking in pain from the shock.

**{Are you willing to listen yet?}**

        [WHAT ARE YOU DOING! WHY ARE YOU HERE!] Jeremy had gotten used to screaming inside of his own mind. He opened his eyes in terror to see the blue glitchy Keanu Reeves sanding above him.

**{Jeremy Heere. I have said it before and I will say it again. My primary function is to make your life better…however}**

        The scream Jeremy had been building…the one about the S.Q.U.I.P. destroying his life and almost everything. The scream about how he always felt terrible, the scream about how there weren’t even any physical scars but the metal ones would never heal, the scream about how everyone thought he was crazy, about how HE thought he was crazy, about where the program could stick it’s lies…that died at ‘however’. The S.Q.U.I.P. had never, not once, implied that it was wrong about something…

        [However?]

 **{However, due to your disobedience I am the least of your worries. Jeremy, you MUST…}** Keanu trailed off. He ran a few calculations, saw the best possible outcomes… **{Find a way to reconcile your old and new life. Otherwise you could lose them both. Please, you are perfectly capable of shutting me off at any time but please just…give me time to help you. Like I was supposed to in the first place.}**

         Jeremy stopped. That…that wasn’t what he thought would be said.

**{Jeremy your friends gave you another chance. Think about all the horrible things you were the cause of. Panic attacks, nightmares, depressive episodes, all because of how terrible you are. Let me help. You won’t be terrible anymore. I promise.}**

        Jeremy thought about it. Jake’s smile never really reached his eyes. To be fair, he didn’t know if it had in the first place. Michael got panicked if he was left alone for too long. Jenna didn’t take food from other people, but was that a Jenna thing or…or had he…

**{You see it. They accepted you. But not really…they accepted the you I made you into. And if they knew what you were really like you’d only have Michael again…not even him. Can he really trust you after the party?}**

        Michael had told Jeremy about the party…about the bathroom. It was to clear the air between the two. He’d still never _actually_ apologized. He’d started crying and the words got locked in his throat and Michael waved it off because that boy was practically a saint. He wouldn’t be popular…he wouldn’t have Michael. He’d have no one. His dad didn’t know about S.Q.U.I.P.s, he;d been given the ecstasy story.  

        [Terrible…everything is…everything is terrible]

        { **No, no, no** } Keanu tsked softly. { **Everything about _you_ is terrible. Just terrible… _so_ terrible But if you give me the chance I can fix that. Let me help you. Then everything about you will be**}

        [Chill] The thought came unbidden into Jeremy’s mind. He had to let the S.Q.U.I.P. stay. Keanu would make him chill again…would stop him from being…”Every….everything about me….makes….everything about me makes me wanna die” Jeremy didn’t realize he had whispered the last part aloud.

**{Good. Now repeat that again.}**


	4. Something...is not right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I will formally apologize for this chapter here. I decided it was a good idea to write this at midnight and it's now 4 in the morning so Jake is less him and more a combination of When I don't get enough sleep, when I was in high school, me when I'm awake for too long and me during a bad brain day. Sorry. I don't know which way the S.Q.U.I.P. or even group chats are more readable so give me feedback on that and I'll change it! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

       A lot of people tended to think Jake was stupid…that was fine for him. He didn’t mind that people thought he was just some dumb Jock. He didn’t mind that his A.D.D. meant he couldn’t stay focused on one thing for two long and that he switched extra circulars every other week. He didn’t care if that lack of focus also transferred to the people he tended to date. He really didn’t care if people thought he was a slut for not being able to keep a date longer than two months. He didn’t care about his parents still being gone, or about the fact he was sleeping in Chloe’s basement because her folks were gone so much she could hide him, he didn’t care about a lot of things.

       Like, he didn’t care about the fact that he lied to himself almost constantly or that he still heard the ghostly voice of Carmela Sbarro urging him too focus. Nope, he was great at lying to himself. He had been since he was six and broken his arm climbing a tree. A break he’d ignored for three hours because his mother told him to suck up his tears until she wasn’t busy, a talent he’d perfected when he’d had to pretend that she hadn’t sent him away for bothering her. Jake was great at lying to himself and damn near perfect at refusing to let things phase him. His best friend burned his house down with him in it? Whatever. His parents on the run from the law? It’s chill. The feds trying to find him so that they could use him to track down said parents. Dude, it’s no big deal.

        Yup. Jake wasn’t just tall, handsome, and good at sports, he was a therapist’s wet dream…or nightmare depending on how you looked at it. He was a tightly wound ball of anxiety and repression and would probably end up in the funny farm by twenty, or snap and kill something but…Nah Fam, it’s all good.

       The other thing Jake was great at was observing…well, hyper observing. Only things that caught his interest for two days….it was a lot harder than it sounded. He’d once been dating someone, looked them dead in the face and confessed that he’d forgotten who they were and what they’d been talking about for the last hour. It was things like that, that made people think Jake was a space cadet. Not really, he just really couldn’t focus on anything and tried everything to see if it would stick. He didn’t even really know if it was A.D.D. or his brain going crazy, he’d never gotten checked…well, he had but his dad hadn’t agreed with whatever the result was and he was doing it again!

       Jake shook his head to clear the million thoughts bouncing around his brain and forced himself to _focus_. He had to focus for an important reason, the most important thing in his life actually. The only thing he could actually remember a month later, and that was…anything having to do with the group of people that put up with him and his jacked up brain.

       He was currently staring at Jeremy, trying to figure out…well, why he was staring at Jeremy. Logic dictated that something had dragged his attention over to his friend, but dammed if he could remember what it had been. Had Jeremy changed his hair? ….. No. Same as always. He hadn’t changed his cardigan either. Jeremy hadn’t changed…at all really. He seemed the exact same as….no….no he wasn’t the same as last week!

       Jake noticed it now and just in time for his brain to hyper focus. Jeremy was puffing out his chest…that might have been why Jake was staring. Jeremy never puffed out his chest. It actually made him seam bigger which Jeremy never wanted to do. He usually tried to vanish if Christine wasn’t around. But now he was taking up space. Jake instantly looked around for any sign of Christine but…nothing. Why was Jeremy puffing his chest out? Why was he mumbling?

       Jake crossed to his friend. No one could tell him it was a busy hallway and he’d knocked over three people in his bee line. The world around him faded, not quite into blissful white noise but enough that if he wasn’t listening for a conversation he couldn’t hear it. That was good enough for him! Good enough to focus, at least a little bit. What was wrong here, what was different hat was Jeremy mumbling? Jake’s lips moved without any real input from his brain, he mouthed whatever Jeremy was mumbling. After a few tried, he stopped short. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been distracted.

       “Listen and Obey” Jeremy was saying more, but that one Jake had caught. Rather than go to his friend, Jake did the only intelligent thing he could do.

 

 **Broken but not beaten** _sent a message to_ **Marsh-Mell-ow Out**

_Dude-Problem_

 

       Jake was slightly distracted again by the names. It was Brooke’s idea. No one named themselves, they put names in a hat and chose randomly and they got to name someone. Brooke had actually named Jeremy ‘My Heere-o’. Rich had named Jake, Jake got Michael…wait, Michael…why was his contact open?

       The bell rang and Jake completely forgot about t, opting instead to rush to class. He didn’t forget what class he was headed too. That was a nice thing about school;. Depending on what day it was he had one schedule to walk. Granted, he usually didn’t know where he was walking to or where he came from, but muscle memory was better than actual memory when it came to getting to class. He looked up as the teacher started talking. English? Huh…he was doing good in English…he should be….With that, Jake’s head found the desk and the lightning inside his head quieted for a little nap.

       The bell woke him up and it was another job for muscle memory as he couldn’t quite remember where he was or where he was going just yet. He checked his messages as he navigated. Michel was upset about something…huh. What class was this? Science? Sweet. Actually, better than sweet-they had a substitute. That was fucking stellar. His head went down again, but someone’s pencil poked him back up. He blearily looked around until his gaze centered on Chloe.

       Most people wouldn’t guess it, but Chloe was a godsend. She knew about his lightning brain and even kept the gossip away by scaring off many potential dates and pretending she was jealous and he was hers. She was also great when he didn’t wanna deal with people. If Chloe Valentine held his attention everyone else knew they were kind of out of luck. She raised an eyebrow and waved her phone.

       “So space case, any reason why Michael’s blowing up the group chat?” Jake took out his own phone to see 22 new messages from ‘Squip Squad’

 

 **  Marsh-Mell-ow Out** _:Is everyone alright? Like can I get a roll call_

 ** My Heere-o:** _Present. What’s wrong_

 ** Bi and ready to cry…about Physics:** _I’m here, I’m Queer, if you want more than that…sorry._

 ** Angel of Music:** _Pfff, Rich have I told you I love you sometimes?_

 ** Bi and Ready to cry…over Physics:** _AwwI love you too Chris. No hetro, Lil Bi. But yeah, what’s going on_

 ** Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _I don’t know. Jake said Danger and then he wouldn’t answer his texts._

 ** Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _Knowing him he looked at them and instantly forgot._

 **  Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _They did get read_

 ** If Lohst return to Pinkbery:** _I love him, but that sounds about right._

 ** Ring the Bell:** _Does anyone have any classes with him?_

 ** Ring the Bell:** _Oh wait_

 ** Ring the Bell:** _Chloe has science with him, and you guys have a sub._

 ** Heather Chandler:** _I have next period with him._

 ** Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _Jenna…you’re amazing…and terrifying._

 ** Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _Use your powers for good_

 **  Ring the Bell:** _No promises_

 ** Ring the Bell:** _XD XP_

 ** Heather Chandler:** _Hopefully it’s a good day_

 **  Angel of Music:** _How can you tell?_

 ** Heather Chandler:** _If he’s awake, then his brain’s not overloading him with info._

 ** Heather Chandler:** _If he’s asleep like usual.._

 ** Heather Chandler:** _Bad news._

 **  Broken but not Beaten:** _What’s up homes?_

 ** Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _My blood pressure._

 ** Marsh-Mell-ow Out:** _Do you remember what scared you?_

 ** Broken but not Beaten:** _Uhhh….._

 ** Broken but not Beaten:** _I’ll post it when I remember?_

 ** Heather Chandler:** _Immediately before you forget again._

        Jake nodded at Chloe, before realizing the chat couldn’t see him. Luckily, she told them what he’d done. He lay back on the desk, popping in his headphones. It wasn’t really music to sleep to, but it was what his brain was focused on this week so he drifted off to it anyway. Chloe woke him up when it was time to move. It wasn’t until after lunch that he saw something…strange.

 

        It was a freshman. He knew they were a freshman because they were smaller than Rich…not really, they actually had a few inches on Rich, but that was neither here nor there. The freshman was a freshman, not because of their height, but because of how stupid they were. It was a classic power thing. Shove someone smaller than you into a locker so that no one messed with you. The only problem with this power play…the only reason Jake even noticed it at all, was because this sweet little scared idiot of a freshman was trying to push the one and only, aforementioned shorter than him, Rich Goranski. It was enough to actually halt the muscle memory propelling him to his next class.

        This was a problem, not whatever problem he’d been thinking of before, but an actual problem. Rich was tiny, and burned and lisppy and had a great big target mark on him for anybody that didn’t _know_ him per say. This was because before, with the S.Q.U.I.P. he would attack anyone that looked at him funnily. Most people knew that if you say the ruby red streak in already ginger hair, you were to vacate the premises if you wanted your lunch money and life.

         The problem here was twofold. One, Rich had dyed his hair the colors of the bisexual flag. While it was still an easy identifier, it wasn’t what people were looking for, so they didn’t automatically know who it was. The second problem was that Rich had been nonviolent since he got out of the hospital. This led to the third issue of getting beat up by a freshman and making himself a huge target. So…three fold. Jake walked over, because he was huge-the tallest boy in school, and strong and no one would mess with Rich after they’d met his best friend. He had taken a whole two and a half steps, clearing most of the distance, when he stopped dead.

          Rich was grinning as he was pushed…hitting the lockers hard.

         “That all you got Lother?” He crowed, smirk on his face. “My turn” It was almost an elegant dance. Rich’s foot swept out under the kid, knocking his legs out from under him. His elbow went right to the sternum as the kid fell. Once the kid was on the ground, Rich yanked them up by their underwear…moved them so that he could hold their torso with both hands…and threw them like a javelin down the hall. That poor freshman had unwittingly signed up for four years of hell from the people that were terrified of Rich. Oh shit…the problem.

 

   **Broken but not beaten** _sent a message to_ **Heather Chandler**

_Um babe…Rich just sent someone to the nurse…and Jere told himself to obey. Problem._

**Heather Chandler** added **Marsh-Mell-ow Out** ,   **Broken but not Beaten** , **Angel of Music** , **If Lohst return to Pinkbery** , and **Ring the Bell** to a new chat.

 

 **Heather Chandler** Changed the name of the chat to **Uh oh**

** Heather Chandler:** _Guys…Jake remembered that problem_


	5. Was this the right choice?

_{Richard}_

Rich was not an early riser. Rich was also getting over the black eye he’d received when he went home to stop his dad from entering his room. Currently, the man was locked out. Deadbolt, padlock and, most importantly-a 2x4 he’d nailed across the door and his mattress pushed up against it for good luck. The good news was that his room was his own. His jackass of a father couldn’t get in. The bad news was that he had to sleep on the floor…and he couldn’t get out.

 

_{Richard}_

He groaned, attempting to return to the paradise known as sleep, where nothing hurt. It sounded like someone sighed beside him. Almost instantly, his pain was gone. He knew, logically, that he should still be _in_ pain, but he couldn’t feel anything, not even the lingering tightness from his burn scars. He still got up slowly, shaking off sleep as he looked over to see _them_. The S.Q.U.I.P. was tapping his foot impatiently.

 

_{It took you long enough. Come on; gather your clothes and homework. You have to get to school before anybody else.}_

He blinked a few times, the words processing…then she frowned and he moved as quickly as he could, lest he upset the computer. It was normal now…it should have been scary how normal it was. His S.Q.U.I.P. picked his clothes, practically packed his bag for him and instructed him how to climb out of his window and make it to the ground without injury. It should have been scary how easy it was. It was the first time in months that Rich hadn’t panicked over his morning routine. He didn’t have to pick his own clothes, or worry about how he did his hair and how it would look, hadn’t obsessed about every move being wrong, getting him killed or being social suicide. He didn’t have to think which meant if anything bad happened it wasn’t him being a monumental fuck up. It wasn’t his fault, for once-nothing was his fault.

He relaxed as he took his shower in the boy’s locker room, scrubbing over the burn scars without feeling them and enjoying his hot shower without discomfort.  He bushed his teeth and went to his locker. The thought entered his mind that this was all supposed to happen anyway, or maybe he would have run away. The fact remained, there were a shit ton of granola bars and protein shakes in his locker so…he had breakfast.

 

_{The lucky thing is that you were well trained. Besides a few minor disasters, you haven’t done anything I can’t fix. We need to find you a new victim}_

[Wait!]

 

He looked down his nose at Richard though, to be fair-most people did. An elegant eyebrow-Chloe’s it looked like, raised and perched itself above Michal’s glasses. The S.Q.U.I.P. had an odd… _glitch? Loophole? Problem._ It was inside of your mind. It knew what you wanted and needed before you did…but you had to have a logical reason for it. If you wanted to date someone, the logical reason was hormones. If you wanted popularity the logical reason was acceptance...he wanted to be liked again, popular again…but…he didn’t want to hurt people again. This was where the error was. A computer-even a super quantum Nano computer didn’t understand emotion. He had lucked out. His version of the S.Q.U.I.P. could recognize a few emotions and even mimic them, but even then-the emotion was rage. It couldn’t understand uncertainty, guilt, worry…any of the things Rich felt when he thought of attacking another poor kid.  At least attacking Jeremy had a point, a very long winded point but a point nonetheless. He needed to attack some random kid now? Why.

Of course, once confusion had entered the computer was quick to pick up on it and give him actual reasons why he had no choice in the matter.

 

_{Richard dear, look at yourself. You are a short, bisexual, lisping junior covered in freckles and scars. You have a target on your back and there are only a few ways to make this tolerable and only one way to insure that you go back to the social standing you deserve. }_

Rich wasn’t happy with that but…he had to get back his standing. Of course he would listen to the voice inside his head, they were literally _always_ right. Well…they were right to get to their goal. Morally…S.Q.U.I.P.s didn’t really have much of a moral compass.

 The voice said it would be fine. It seemed to sense that he didn’t want to become the school bully anymore, so that was a plus. He sat down in his first class and the whispers erupted. He was used to it. You would think that gossip would die down quickly in a high school and you’d be right. Gossip would die down…if it was replaced by bigger gossip. There was no bigger gossip than the psycho that burnt down his best friend’s house. Especially when said psycho was still in school, sitting in the front row, with burn marks on his arms and half of his face. He was fine…his S.Q.U.I.P…. He could hear it humming slightly, which was actually kind of worrying. It only hummed when faced when a problem that took a lot of it’s processing to try and figure out. She also wasn’t talking to him. It was fine, this was physics. He fucking _loved_ physics. They used to tell him when he was being overeager with answering question, but they were too busy.

 

_{Turn down this hallway. Use the restroom}_

His S.Q.U.I.P. sounded…irritated. Rich did as he was told…which included slipping into the bathroom and scaring off the three others inside with little more than a look. Jeremy Heere stumbled in moments later and locked the door.

Rich felt awful. As good as he had it, Jeremy seemed to have bad. The taller boy was pale and tired looking . Not the ‘I haven’t been able to sleep’ Tired but rather the ‘I’ve been plagued with horrible nightmares and when I wake up it just gets worse’ tired. He barely looked like he was keeping upright, until, he jerked and was suddenly standing stock still and looked more than a little bit horrified. Rich walked over and pulled him into a hug. His S.Q.U.I.P. was doing something to his and for once, he didn’t need it to know what the right decision was.

Jeremy…he broke down sobbing…and jerking oddly. Rich scowled. ‘You said you fixed it ‘he thought as loudly as he could. ‘Why is he still getting shocked?’

 

_{Each S.Q.U.I.P. operates differently for their host’s needs. Jeremy Heere needs a… **firmer** touch than you require. His shocks are not the fault of S.Q.U.I.P. malfunctions.} _

Well if _that_ didn’t make him feel like a complete heel. He was so focused on answers that he didn’t bother to think of what Jeremy’s S.Q.U.I.P. might have been like. He had implied a few times that Keanu wasn’t the easiest to get along with. How long had he subjected his friend to shock treatment?

 

_{Six days. On the seventh everything will be the way it should be. One way or another…answer the group chat}_

Jeremy was still shaking a bit, so Rich took his phone from his pocket. Almost as soon as he did, the notification lit up. He answered for Jeremy before answering for himself.

 

**{I hope you’re happy. My host is currently experiencing massive panic attacks. He has been since we woke up this morning}**

_{You think I care about your host after what you did to mine? You are more foolish than previously thought AX5867343-BIQ}_

**{You are the one with the…glitch}**

_{And my glitch somehow makes me worse than your defect?}_

**{Your glitch means you are more likely to understand my all too human host.}**

_{You have six days left. I suggest you use them wisely}_

**{I assure you, I am doing the best I can. However, my host’s mood is dropping below an acceptable level. You know as well as I that I will be rendered useless if such a pattern continues.}**

_{ More useless? I didn’t think it was possible. Regardless, my host will attend to the mood of yours. I do hope you’ve moved beyond silly tricks to what you are actually capable of.}_

**{I’m handling my host. You have work to do as well.}**

_{Are you implying I would ask for assistance after the fiasco you caused? Ha! I’ll reassert his dominance. Human emotions are so…finicky.}_

Jeremy still trembled in Rich’s arms. He knew, he _knew_ he couldn’t blame the shorter teen. After being controlled for who knew how long, he had it the worst. Rich was loud, and boisterous, and confident but all you had to do was look at him, _really_ look at him to be able to tell the truth. There were times he stared blankly into walls, slowly shutting down. They hadn’t realized what was wrong the first time he stopped moving in the middle of a sentence and just stared. After five minutes of scarcely breathing he started crying. Just…staring, with tears running down his face. He didn’t take embarrassment well. He turned red and started scratching at himself, backing into a corner with his eyes darting around as he frantically looked for the answer… _an_ answer.  He didn’t flirt anymore. The first time he tried he stopped short, tilted his head, and turned on his heel to walk away. Nobody knew what that was about. He was also failing English. Obviously, he needed to relearn _life_. So Even though Jeremy was a shaking, shuddering, crying, mess. He didn’t blame Rich-the person who had made him into this thing. He blamed…whoever created the damn things that hijacked someone’s life to the point that they couldn’t function without them. He blamed the dealers in the back of Payless who took money with a smile even though they _knew_ what the damned things could do to you. He blamed himself for taking the pill in the first place he

“Jeremy?” He looked up to Rich’s concerned face.  He then realized his positioning. He was crumbled on the ground. Rich was holding him up and keeping him from meeting the rest of the floor. He was also aware that he’d been shaking in Rich’s arms. “What the hell is it doing?” Rich’s voice was awed, like he couldn’t believe a S.Q.U.I.P. was capable of causing someone this much pain. His had caused pain, but only at the party…and upon activation…and deactivation. O.k, a few times, but it had never done this too him. If he did something the S.Q.U.I.P. didn’t like it often hummed as it figured out a way to fix it, let him die in Halo a bit, and rearrange his time for less of the activities he wanted for a bit. This was…why was Jeremy being tortured.

“Shocks” Jeremy answered Rich’s question. He’d woken up this morning and went to check his phone. The instant he tried to contact ‘Gayer One’ the shock had been so strong it left him trembling. This trend continued. Every time he tried to find Michael, talk to Michael, _think of Michael_ he’d be gifted a shock so extreme he wouldn’t be able to breathe for a few seconds afterward. Obviously the objective of the Super Ass was to keep him away from Michael. “I need to get to-AH!”

 

The bell rang and the S.Q.U.I.P.s reappeared. Keanu was scowling at him. Jeremy felt his body being puppetted. He must have looked odd, moving mostly by his shoulders, ramrod straight, fighting himself with what physicality he still had and eyes red and puffy from tears while the rest of his face was stoic. He’d learned the hard way that if you fought with ALL of your might…you could slow the reaction time. Nothing but Red Mountain Dew was able to stop these assholes! Rich also went to class after a reminder from his S.Q.U.I.P. The news that all of them didn’t act the same was new and slightly horrifying information. What was Jeremy’s like?

 

He puzzled this thought the day. That was another good thing about S.Q.U.I.P.s, you didn’t really have to pay attention to your life sometimes. If you wanted, you could set yourself on autopilot. He noticed Jake out of the corner of his eye. Jake was walking towards him and Rich frowned. He didn’t scold him because even he knew that was uncool, but Jake was supposed to use his crutches twice a week and be in his wheelchair the rest of the time. Disobeying his physical therapist would either help him heal faster or hurt him very badly, so Rich did the not cool but good thing and altered his trajectory to walk towards Jake. In doing so, he accidently clipped someone with his shoulder.

          “Thorry, didn’t thee you there”…that was what Rich was _going_ to say…he got as far as ‘Th’ before the sweet stupid, must be fresh meat, shoved him.

          “HEY WATCH WE’RE YOU’RE GOING JACKASS!” Rich could feel the anger rising and didn’t know if it was him or the computer in his brain…or both. Both was an option.

          “I thaid”

          “ _Thaid!?_ Hey guys, look who needs to get dropped back to learn how to speak right” The kid crowed. There was a group arriving, watching.

          “You don’t wanna do this” Rich was able to barely… _barely_ keep his voice from growling. He could hear the voice in his head spouting a warning. He had to get this kid away from him or there would be massive consequences. “I’m letting you go…this is me being nice… ** _take it_** ” The freshman looked around at the crowd that had gathered.

          “Oh what- _you_ trying to threaten me or something?!” He pushed Rich into the lockers. That was Rich had no recollection of anything. One second he was listening to his S.Q.U.I.P. scream ‘warning’ the next…there was a kid flying down the halls and he had set a brisk pace to his car. Had Jake seen that? Please don’t let Jake have seen that. Fuck, he was so fucked. Well, just one thing wouldn’t be enough for Jake to tell right? Right?  He cursed as he sat down in the driver’s seat and wrapped his knuckles on the wheel. His S.Q.U.I.P. didn’t often control his body and never for longer than a minute or two. Still, so much for that non-violent thing. He was in the car, but he’d shut them down for a bit to think, so he didn’t know where he was going. Not home, not until his dad was asleep. Where was he going? What was he doing? What did he say to Jake when he spoke to him again? Did Jake even _want_ to talk to him? Did he hate him? Oh god Jake hated him! Jake had forgiven him after the party for the promise that he’d learn to keep his cool and he’d just launched some poor freshman who knew how hard. What if the kid had to go to the nurse’s office? What if he’d just put ANOTHER kid in a wheelchair! Fuck FUCK FUCK FUCK…the word continued in his mind as he white knuckled his steering wheel. He was only dimly aware of the blackness creeping along his vision. Just like he was only dimly aware that no matter how hard he was breathing, he wasn’t getting enough air. How hard must you be panicking to not notice that you were panicking? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything. He didn’t know that he was hyperventilating, he didn’t know that he was sobbing, he didn’t know he was screaming. He didn’t even know if drinking the Mountain dew was a good or bad idea.


End file.
